The Principal Secretary (PS), State Department for Transport Mohamed Daghar has exhorted Mombasa youth to seize the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) project for job creation, instead of being idle and susceptible to indecorous behaviour and drug and substance abuse.
Speaking during a NYOTA project stakeholder’s sensitisation forum at the R G Ngala Hall in Mombasa, PS Daghar lauded the initiative, terming it a transformative and thoughtful project that will significantly address unemployment amid a youth bulge in the country.
The PS also encouraged the local leadership to intensify their outreach to the community to take full advantage of the affirmative fund.
The project is a flagship initiative of the government designed to address youth unemployment through practical, inclusive and results-oriented interventions. The project is financed by the World Bank and implemented through a multi-agency approach.
PS Daghar explained that the project is tailored to empower Kenyan youth through skills development and certification, work experience, entrepreneurship and savings.
The project seeks to continue with the successes of the Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities Project by targeting over 820,000 vulnerable youth across the country, including refugees in Garissa and Turkana counties.
“The goal of NYOTA is simple but powerful: to enable our youth to learn, to earn, and to save. Through this project, we want to increase youth earnings, expand employment opportunities and promote a sustainable saving culture among young people,” stated Daghar.
The project, he added, contributes to the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, which focuses on empowering citizens at the grassroots and building livelihoods from the bottom up.
The project has four components: improving youth employability, increasing employment opportunities, youth savings and social protection and strengthening employment systems and digital skilling.
The PS urged the leaders to sensitise the public about the project and mobilise Mombasa youth to lead in applications for the fund.
“We call on County Officers, youth groups and community leaders to spread the word that eligible youth aged 18 to 19 years, and up to 35 for persons with disabilities, should take advantage of this opportunity,” said PS Daghar.
Mombasa Women Representative, Zamzam Mohamed, promised to lead an awareness campaign for youth at the grassroots to understand the project and apply for funds to uplift their lives through initiating income-generating ventures.
Zamzam urged university graduates to use the project as a stepping stone amid a scarcity of employment opportunities.
“We should give them opportunities to enjoy the fruits, too. Why don’t we also include the youth who have graduated, who have gone through university-level studies? They are out there, they are many,” she said.
The Women Representative urged the implementers of the project to reach out to youth who don’t have access to computers or lack smartphones to apply for the funds.
County Assembly Speaker, Aharub Khatri, praised the initiative, advising youth not selected in the first cycle to remain patient, as more opportunities will follow. He further proposed turning the grant into a revolving fund to enhance accountability and business discipline.
Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba said many youths are idle and the project will enable them to be productive. He further called for the sensitisation forums to be conducted at the ward level.
“Chiefs should be facilitated to sensitise the youth at the grassroots level to enhance awareness of the project,” he stated.
County Commissioner Mohamed Nur affirmed that Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs will spearhead public awareness campaigns to ensure all eligible youth understand and apply for the programme.
By Sadik Hassan
